Here’s an important question that consumer electronics manufacturers don’t hear enough: Are you talking to your consumers? Because if you’re not talking to consumers, others are doing the talking for you.

For all the criticism that Microsoft takes, it has been doing a fabulous job talking to consumers over the last nine months. The best part about Microsoft’s messaging lately is that even on TV, it is allowing consumers to talk to its consumers. It’s brilliant and extremely effective. Probably even more effective than Apple’s Mac vs PC ads.

The most successful companies talk to consumers through broadcast media: Microsoft, Apple, Research in Motion. Motorola’s Droid has become very popular because it enjoys stellar airtime.

Let’s look at who doesn’t talk to consumers very much, or very effectively:

Tivo: The best DVR in the world is an after-thought to cable and satellite DVRs.

Palm: The Pre is fabulous, but the strange new-age commercials are not.

Sony: Its PS3 has been the worst-selling gaming console for years for a reason.

I pick these companies as examples because all three make terrific, category-defining products that dramatically impact customers’ lives for the better

But these companies have not been talking to their consumers. TiVo stopped a long time ago. Palm recently started up again after years of silence (this has proven deadly for many companies). And I can’t remember the last time Sony touted its PS3 on the airwaves.

And so, since these manufacturers aren’t educating people about their products, others are. The media. The reviewers. The friends and neighbors. The disgruntled users. (Guess who writes most technology reviews on the Internet? Not the satisfied user.)

If you’re not talking to consumers, you’re creating a vacuum of information that will be filled by others. You don’t just lose control of your message,  you hand it over on a silver platter. The results are never in your favor.